Food Banks and Pantries

Jodi Hilton for the New York Times

News about Food Banks and Pantries, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Dec. 15, 2014

Rachel L Swarns The Working Life column; latest federal statistics on hunger reveal one in six people in New York City were unable to afford adequate food supply throughout the year from 2011 to 2013; finds that low-wage workers are lining up with homeless and elderly at food pantries; notes such difficulties explain why people are not encouraged by economic recovery when they see no raises and continued loss of benefits. MORE

Jun. 28, 2014

New York City Coalition Against Hunger estimates one in six New York City residents live in homes without enough money to buy food; 2013 survey shows 254 food pantries and soup kitchens across city saw demand increase an average of 10 percent since 2012; de Blasio administration has announced plans to increase enrollment for food stamps by expanding online services, among other measures. MORE

Jan. 22, 2014

Food banks across country are preparing for increased demand as Congress prepares to cut billions of dollars more from food stamp program included in farm bill that has yet to pass; roughly 47 million Americans receive food stamps; $9 billion from food stamps over 10 years is expected to be cut when changes go into effect. MORE

Jan. 3, 2014

Hull Journal; working poor are becoming more common in Great Britain and as their numbers grow, so too does hunger; community of Hull, England, is an example, as 500,000 people there rely on local food banks, three times as many as in 2013. MORE

Dec. 6, 2013

Spanish Evangelical Church in the Bronx is feeding more people than ever in one of the nation’s poorest communities, as food pantries struggle to meet increasing demand; church's food pantry Give Them to Eat distributed the equivalent of more than 29,000 meals in November, up from 10,000 in March. MORE

Nov. 26, 2013

New York City Coalition Against Hunger reports that one-sixth of city’s residents and one-fifth of its children live in homes without enough to eat; food pantries like Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger in Brooklyn are scrambling to maintain adequate supplies; advocates for poor New Yorkers attribute the spike in demand at city’s hundreds of food pantries and soup kitchens to a cutback in the federal food stamps program on Nov 1. MORE

Nov. 24, 2013

Ginia Bellafante Big City column laments increasing challenges facing Food Bank for New York City, including rising numbers of the poor and hungry in New York City and complexity of food sourcing; says monetary donations to such organizations are often more effective than food donations. MORE

Nov. 8, 2013

Nonprofit groups like Rotary First Harvest address the problem of hunger by gleaning, or gathering edible vegetables and fruit left behind in fields after harvest, as means to feed the poor; such projects are effective model for small-scale farmers, because volunteers provide labor farmers otherwise could not afford. MORE

Nov. 9, 2012

Food banks and pantries, which are on the front lines during emergencies, are increasingly providing long-term support, including access to fresh produce and education services. MORE

Jan. 24, 2012

Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who has announced she is resigning from Congress to focus on her recovery, makes farewell visit to the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center, an office at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona built from contributions sent in her honor. MORE

Jan. 16, 2012

Editorial applauds the work done by DC Central Kitchen, the country's oldest community kitchen providing meals for the poor and homeless; asserts that the kitchen provides sustenance, income, dignity and hope to its workers and the people it serves. MORE

Dec. 25, 2011

Dan Barry This Land column on Detroit food bank Focus HOPE, which has served Detroit's needy for four decades; notes that the workhorse operation was founded by a charismatic priest, Rev William Cunningham, and a suburban housewife, Eleanor Josaitis, and though both are dead, their presence lingers and inspires. MORE

Nov. 2, 2011

Greater Boston Food Bank implements pilot program called the Mobile Pantry, in which they truck in fresh, healthful food to so-called 'food deserts,' communities lacking access to supermarkets in the Greater Boston area. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"ARTICLES ABOUT FOOD BANKS","query":"(((des=\"PHILANTHROPY\" or des=\"SOUP KITCHENS\" or des=\"FOOD\") and (body=\"food banks\" or body=\"food bank\")) or org like \"food bank\" or org=\"America's Second Harvest\" or org=\"Second Harvest\" or org=\"City Harvest\" or hdl=\"food bank\" or hdl=\"food banks\" or des=\"Food Banks and Pantries\") and tom!=\"Caption\" and tom!=\"Correction\" and tom!=\"List\" and tom!=\"Paid Death Notice\" and dsk!=\"Society\"","search_query":"(((subject:\"PHILANTHROPY\" OR subject:\"SOUP KITCHENS\" OR subject:\"FOOD\") AND (body:\"food banks\" OR body:\"food bank\")) OR organizations.contains:\"food bank\" OR organizations:\"America's Second Harvest\" OR organizations:\"Second Harvest\" OR organizations:\"City Harvest\" OR headline:\"food bank\" OR headline:\"food banks\" OR subject:\"Food Banks and Pantries\") AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"List\" AND -type_of_material:\"Paid Death Notice\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\"","num_search_articles":"15","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"FOOD BANKS AND PANTRIES","exclude":["","","","",""],"more_on_header":"MORE ON FOOD BANKS AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}